The simple answer is yes. 

Why wouldn’t you want people to add more content to your page?

Google loves a site that updates frequently. 

And comments are an excellent way to refresh a 10-year-old blog post. 

But, there are other reasons why you should turn off blog comments. 

Spam and time-consuming moderation are just some of them.

So, are blog comments good for SEO, or you’re just wasting time?

Let’s find out.

Are blog comments good for SEO or a big time-suck?

If you use WordPress as I told you to in the how to start a blog article, you have the option to turn on or off commenting. 

I have mine turned on for added SEO benefits. Added content tells Google that the site is regularly updated. 

However, my small website gets only 10k visitors a month. I receive an average of 5 spam comments a day, and it’s frustrating. 

I can only imagine how much spam the bigger websites with millions of traffic a month get? Pretty sure they are having a hard time with comments.

That’s if they have the comments turned on. So, should you turn on commenting or leave it off?

Blog comments, on or off?

Let’s weigh the pros and cons of turning on comments. 

Pros

• Comments add extra content
• Keeps the site regularly updated
• Social engagement
• Readers can have their say
• As a writer, comments can spark ideas for a next article
• If the blogger responds, it shows they care

Cons

• Time-consuming
• Responding to hundreds of comments may take you away from blogging
• You get called out (Cons if you don’t know what you’re saying)

The biggest plus to having comments in a blog post is the added content. The words keep the site fresh and give a good signal to Google. 

Comments create engagement between the author and the reader. 

That is all well and good, but sometimes responding to hundreds of comments is time-consuming. 

Handpicking comments to trash from thousands is annoying and tedious—a waste of time. 

The time that you could have used to write more articles that matter.

Do comments affect SEO?

Comments are user-generated content. 

And Google classifies comments as user-generated content.

Does that make them less valuable?

Perhaps? I don’t know. But, I will ask Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, John Mueller. 

But, I can’t wait for John to comb through his 1000 emails in his inbox. I’m sure John will throw my email in the bin anyway.

So, I decided to do a real world wide web test. 

I googled, “are blog comments good for SEO.”

Guess what came up on top in my search results?

This post titled “Blog Commenting For SEO: The Why & The How In 2021” by Matthew Woodward, a blogger from the UK. 

Do you know how short the article is compared to the comments?

The comments take 75% of the page with more than 327 blog comments!

But then again, the second result, which is a post titled “Are Blog Comments Useless for Link Building?” by Search Engine Land has no comment at all. 

The third result, titled “To Allow Blog Comments or Not? Here’s What the Data Shows…” has more words in the comments section than the body of the article. 

So, are blog comments good for SEO? Well, as you can see from my 10-second study, it’s irrefutable.

Let’s just wait for John Mueller’s answer, shall we?

How to respond to blog comments?

I try to respond to each comment as much as I can. And with honesty. 

If I don’t have a clue, I say I don’t know. 

If I’m wrong, I say sorry and thank them for correcting me.

If they need info, I answer to the best of my abilities.

However, as I mentioned, there are many spammers on the web.

Why do spammers spam?

The easiest way to get backlinks is by leaving a comment on other websites in the early days.

Google got wise and implemented updates to combat comment backlinking.

Many don’t realize that Google can recognize external links from user-generated content. Therefore, many spam bloggers with unrelated comments full of links back to their websites.

How do you respond to spam comments?

You don’t. 

Put the comment in the spam folder and block the IP address. 

Wondering how to block comments from IP addresses using WordPress?

Just do the following:

1. Once you’re in the WordPress dashboard, go to “settings.”
2. Then, “discussion.”
3. Scroll down to “disallowed comment keys.”
4. Copy and paste the IP address in the box.
5. Click “save.”

Any comment from the IP address will be automatically moved to trash.

And that’s how I respond to blog comments and deal with spam.

How to give good comments on blog

Now you might want to comment on other blog posts for SEO purposes.

Don’t do that. 

As you already know, Google can recognize links from user-generated content and automatically “nofollow” it.

Instead, leave a comment because you want to engage with others in your space. 

Share ideas and network. 

Also, their readers may find you very informative and an expert in the area, which can add cred to your brand. 

However, you have to get your comment approved first and out of the trash can.

I’m not the only one who throws spam comments in the trash. Many bloggers do as well.

Why?

Firstly, who likes reading comments that are unrelated to the article that you spent days writing?

Secondly, I hate reading comments that are unrelated to the article.

Thirdly, link-laden comments are obvious spam.

If your comment has nothing to do with the blog post, it goes in the bin. 

So, how to give good comments on blog so it won’t go in the trash can?

Read the whole article and comment if you have something valuable to add. Stop promoting links in your comment.

Do that, and you may boost your traffic and grow your brand. 

Conclusion

Gone are the days that commenting causes landslides of backlinks to your site.

Today, leaving comments is not about acquiring backlinks. 

Instead, commenting creates engagement, increases trust, shows your expertise, boosts your brand, and perhaps garner more sales.

As any good SEO knows, regularly updated sites are one of the Google rankings. So why not let others help you out by allowing comments?

Are blog comments good for SEO? You bet it does. 

In saying that, it may not be practical if you’re receiving hundreds of comments a week. Especially if you don’t have a team to help you.